Aren't You Coming Back?
by nickersoncrazy
Summary: FINALLY, FINALLY UPDATED!. Nancy and Ned are being held captive. Together.They've got a case to crack and days after they break up, they realize that maybe, just maybe, the magic is still alive...
1. No Trust, No Love

I thought I'd try my hand at writing plot, so here goes:

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"So, what did you want to talk about?," Bess Marvin asked Nancy Drew, who was sitting on her bed. Nancy sighed. It had been a long day and she was beat. 

"Ned," she repiled.

Bess' eyes lit up mischieviously. "Ohh... so what's been happening with you and lover boy lately?," she asked, grinning. Nancy sighed again.

"No, Bess, it's not like that, we're just having problems," she replied. Bess' expression immediately changed. "You mean you guys fought or something?,"she asked.

"Uh...not exactly, we didn't fight, but I can't help but think we will be soon," She answered.

"Huh?," Bess asked,confused.

"Bess, have I ever told you about Allison Jones , or _Allie_ as Ned calls her?," Bess shook her head. "Well, she just moved in all the way from India, and lives really close to Ned's place," she continued. "She was born here, but has been living there for two years now. And she is gorgeous, I mean really, totally gorgeous. She and Ned have become quite friendly and he even introduced us." She took a deep breath. "And of late, she's all he can talk about. And they live so close to each other, I don't know, I don't want them to get closer than they should, you know what I mean?"

Bess nodded. "Come on Nan, you know Ned's crazy about you. You've been through so much together, do you really think that girl can change your past _and_ your future?" Bess asked.

Nancy felt miserable. "No, I guess not."

"Call him, you'll feel better," Bess said, guesturing towards Nancy's cell phone.

An hour later, after Bess left, Nancy was in her room, dialling Ned's number.

_I'm just being dramatic. Nothing can come between us_, she thought.

------------------------------------

"Hey, Ned ? It's me." Nancy said, a few minutes later.

"Nancy? Oh, hey, what's up?" Ned replied.

"Hmm... nothing much. I just wanted to call you. It's been over a week since I last saw you. What have you been up to? I really miss you, you know?Nancy could almost see him smiling at the other end.

"I miss you too, Nan. But I've been really busy with work and the like.

"Okay, so how about we get together tomorrow? It's a Sunday and you won't have work, it'll be perfect, what say?" Nancy asked, hoping he'd agree.

"Alright, when?"

"How about tomorrow at hmm...seven in the morning at the beach"

"The beach? At seven ? since when do you get up that early?" Ned asked, surprised.

"Since I realized that the earlier I wake up, the more time I get to spend with you," Nancy repiled, flirting. "I know what a fitness freak you are, we can go jogging."

"Hey! you call it being concious, not a fitness freak," Ned retorted, playfully.

"Whatever you call it,"Nancy said laughing.

_I have nothing to worry about_, she thought. She felt a sudden bolt of love for Ned shoot through her.

"Okay, then, see you. Love you."

"G'night, Nancy. I love you too,"Ned said.

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Nancy wiped the sweat on her forehead with her sleeve. It was around seven forty - five, and Nancy and Ned were taking a break. They had talked about the past week, and although Allison's name and come up more often than she liked, she decided to ignore it. They were sitting down and Ned's arm was around Nancy' shoulders, holding her close. Nancy sighed happily.

"Don't tell me you're tired already, " Ned teased.

"You wish," Nancy replied.

Suddenly Ned's phone rang and he removed his hand from around Nancy's shoulders to answer it. Nancy listened in on his side of the conversation.

"Oh, hey, how are you?" he asked as soon as he recognised the voice. There were a few moments of silence. Then Ned slapped his forehead.

"O God, how could I have forgotten? We were supposed to -," Ned seemed upset. " I'm really sorry. I'll be there right away," he said before he hung up. Nancy's heart sank. _So much for spending time together,_ she thought.

"Nancy, I'm sorry, I've got to go," Ned said, getting up.

"Why? Is something wrong?" Nancy asked.

"Wrong? Oh, no, I just promised Allie I'd give her a whole tour of the place, that's all," Ned didn't seem to notice the hurt in her eyes when he mentioned Allison. Nancy tried her best to stay calm, although she felt like there was a furnace inside her waiting to come out.

"Oh, okay then, how about tomorrow?" she asked, swallowing her disappointment.

"Tomorrow? I don't think so, Nancy."

"Why? Do you and your precious little_ Allie_ have a date, or something?" she burst out. The tears were ready to roll down.

"What - what makes you say that?" he asked, his face, a mask of shock.

"I'll tell you what! I know she's on your mind, like, constantly, and - and now you give up spending time with me just to go see _her_? Is she more important to you than I am. Whose boyfriend are you, anyway?" she asked, pure hurt in her voice.

"Come on Nancy, you know it's not like that," Ned said, fighting to stay cool.

"Then let me come with you today," Nancy said, a hint of challenge in her voice.

Now Ned looked angry. "Listen, Nancy, If you can't trust me, it's your problem. What about the number of guys you've flirted with? Have I ever exploded at you like this. "

Nancy was seething as much as Ned. " So there, you just admitted iy. You have been flirting with her, and God knows what else. If she's so great, why are you her? Go on run home to her," she said sarcastically. "Go on, don't just stand there."

"Fine." Ned said,fire in his eyes. "If that's what you want."

----------------------------------

"And that's it! He just walked away," Nancy said to Bess, a couple of hours later. They were sitting in the food coutr in the mall, the best place to calm your nerves, according to Bess.

"Don't worry, Nancy. He'll come back, you know he will," Bess said, trying to comfort her friend, but it was of no use. To make matters worse, somebody approached at their table, the last person Nancy wanted to see.

"Allison," she almost spat out.

"Hi Nancy," she said a little too nicely. She seemed to totally ignore Bess. "I just wanted to tell you that this is the happiest day of my life," she said.

"Oh," Nancy simply said.

"Oh come on, ask me why, you know you want to," Allison said. Nancy glared at her.

"Oh , I'll tell you anyway," she said. "Today, I found my true love. Today Ned Nickerson asked me to be his girlfriend!"

Nancy's heart froze. She could hear Bess calling out to her, but she couldn't respond.

_He wouldn't. How could he?_

Allison walked away from them, and when she was almost out of sight, she turned around and gave Nancy a nasty smirk.

_This isn't over._

_

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_

Okay, so there was no plot in this chap, but there will be later on. I decided to wait and see if I get any reviews for this chap before updating, and if so, how many. So lets say, 5 reviews and an update. How about it?

Later,

nickersoncrazy.


	2. A Very Familiar Victim

I know I didn't get 5 reviews, but I understand as there wasn't much substance in the last chapter. So here's chapter 2. Hopefully, this chapter will get a better response.

* * *

"I hate him, I hate him, I hate him," Nancy said, punching her pillow, that night. 

"You hate him?" Hannah, the Drew's housekeeper asked, gently.

"No," Nancy choked, wiping the tears on her face. "I love him. Why do you think I'm crying? Why is he doing this to me, Hannah?"

Hannah hugged her. "I really don't know how to make you feel better, Nan," she said finally. "All I know is that everything is going to work out for you."

"But why?" Nancy sobbed into Hannah's shoulder.

"He probably felt hurt, Nancy. He probably felt like if you didn't trust him, you didn't love him," Hannah said.

Another half hour of consoling later, Hannah left Nancy alone in her room.

Nancy crawled under her bed and took out an old shoe box that she always kept hidden. It was full of love letters that Ned had given Nancy, throughout the entire period of their relationship. She had never let anyone see them. She took out a letter, yellow with age. The one that he had given her on their first Valentine's day as a couple. Nancy smiled through her tears as she read it, and re - read it. Ned had always had a way of signing letters that Nancy loved.

_Straight from the heart,_

_Ned._

Nancy didn't know anybody who signed letters like that. Ned was special, very special.

She cried herself to sleep that night, his letter under her pillow.

---------------------------------------------------------------

A couple of weeks later, as the pain of losing Ned still didn't go away. From what she heard, Ned and Allison were happy together.

One Saturday morning, Nancy sat at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. Her father had already left for work, and Hannah had gone out grocery shopping. She was all alone. She was bored out of her mind. It seemed like ages since she saw Ned, and even longer since she had had a mystery to solve. Nancy muttered in frustration. As if on cue, the phone rang. Nancy ran to the kitchen to pick up the extension.

_Maybe it's Bess or George_, she thought, referring to her other best friend.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Ms. Drew?" a man's voice said over the phone.

"Yeah, speaking. Who's this?"

"I'm Detective John, from the Chicago PD," he answered.

_Did he say PD,_ she thought, her heart racing.

"Chief McGinnis told me to contact you. You see, Miss Drew, we have a case of murder in our hands, and after hearing about the reputation you have, we we're wondering if you'd like to give us a hand, " he explained.

_Like to? I'd love to!_ she almost screamed. This was exactly what she needed.

"Definitely, Detective John. Could you give me some details right now?" she asked.

Yeah, I can do that. Hmm...let's see, we got this case lodged late last night, around eleven or so. The victim is male, about six-two in height, dark hair. He's working, we haven't found out where yet. We have found out his name, though. Some guy called, uh.. hold on a second please."

_Arrgh... come on quick._

_"_ Hello? Sorry about that. Like I was saying, some guy called Ned Nickerson. He was..."

Nancy's heart stopped.

* * *

Pleeeaase review! As soon as you review, I'll update, I promise. 

nickersoncrazy :,,,!


	3. The Note

**All names, charecters,and events in this story are a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real happenings is purely co - incidental.**

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

* * *

The phone slipped from her hand, crashed to the floor, and broke into a million pieces, just like her heart. Nancy sunk to the floor. Her body kept jerking involuntarily. The tears would not form. Tears were not enough for the pain that she felt. She suddenly felt numb. She put her hands over her face and continued jerking. 

_No. No. Please God, no._

Her face was a sickly pale, and she was beginning to find it difficult to breathe. She curled into a tighter ball, trembling like never before. She couldn't think. Her brain simply refused. She could hear another extension in the den ringing, but she could not move.

_You can't do this to me, God. You can't take him away, please._

She was starting to feel guiddy Her head was pounding. Dizziness was beginning to close in on her.

"Nan, honey? Are you here?" Nancy could hear her father's voice coming from the den.

"Da -Daddy?" she said weakly.

Mr Drew heard the tone of her voice, and ran into the kitchen. He saw his daughter lying on the floor, her eyes closed. He rushed to her side.

"Nancy, wha - what happened?" he asked, lifting her up. She did not answer. Her father noticed a dazed, far away experssion in her eyes. So full of fear.

"Nancy, baby, please answer me," her father said, tapping her cheek. "Are you okay?"

She still did not answer.

_She isn't even listening. Oh, no, what could have happened?_

He took a deep breath. He had never done this before. He never wanted to, but he knew he had to. He raised his hand.

He gave her one, tight slap across her face.

It was then that the tears began to flow. Flow like as if the gates of a dam had been open. She snapped out of the trance she'd been in. She let herself into her father's arms and began to cry. Cry hard.

"Oh, God...Dad, I got..., Ned, he's...," she said in between sobs.

"Ned? What happened to Ned?" her father asked, holding his breath unconciously.

"Ned died, dad, he's gone," she answered, pounding her fists on her father's arm in frustration. "Gone."

"What?" Mr Drew asked, a mask of shock on his face. "What? Oh Nancy, how?"

"I don't know, I don't know anything." she told him, crying uncontrollably. "Tell me this is not happening, please, make this nightmare go away, daddy, please," she begged.

_I wish I could, Nan. I wish I could_.

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A half hour later, Nancy and Mr Drew sat in Detective John's office in the PD.

"I'm sorry, Miss Drew, I misread the threatening note that I received. It said that Ned had been kidnapped, and that they would kill him after the job was done, they didn't say what job, though. They haven't murdered him. Yet," he added.

Nancy was furioius. She stood up. "Misread? You call me up, tell me that my boyfriend is dead, when he's not and you call that misreading?" She could feel fresh tears gather in her eyes.

"Your boyfriend?" he asked.

"Ex," she replied quitely.

"Can we see the note?" Mr. Drew asked, trying to change the subject.

"No, I'm afraid not. I've given the note to an officer to see if it could be traced." Detective John replied.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Nancy asked. "Do you have any leads?"

"No. Nothing so far. But since you say you knew Nickerson, I think you should talk to some of his friends and family and see if you come up with anything," he said.

"Okay, okay. I'll get on it right away. I'll let you know if there are any developments," Nancy told him.

"Alright. And I'll do the same."

_This is one case I'm determined to crack._

_----------------------------------------------_

A few minutes later. Nancy was sitting on the couch at the Nickerson's, doing her best to console Mrs. Nickerson.

"How could this have happened?," Mrs. Nickerson sobbed.

"I don't know, but - but Mrs. Nickerson, I swear that I'll bring him back. I don't know how, I don't know when, but I will. I know I will." She hugged Mrs.Nickerson. "Now you've got to tell me everything that has happened," she said gently.

"Have you noticed anything strange about him lately?"

Mrs. Nickerson thought for a moment. "No," she answered. "The only thing that was strange was that he broke up with you. I never thought that could happen."

_Neither did I._

"He's been spending most of his time with Allison," she said.

"Have you ever met her?" Nancy asked.

"Yes, a few times. She seems a little arrogant, I don't really like her. I can't imagine what Ned can see in her. why, do you think she could be involved in this?"

"I don't know. Just because I hate her, dosen't mean she's evil," Nancy answered.

"You hate her?" Mrs. Nickerson asked.

"She took Ned away from me. How can I not hate her?" Nancy was the one that needed comforting, it seemed.

"Oh, Nancy, I -,"

"Uh, no, I'm sorry I got self - centered. Tell me what you know about Allison," she said.

"Well, all I know is that she's new here and she lives alone in an apartment nearby. Oh, and she and Ned work together," she said.

"Oh," Nancy said. "Ned didn't tell me that," she said, hurt.

_So they were closer that I thought.._

_Well, time now to deal with the little witch._

_------------------------------------------_

Nancy stood in front of the door of Allison's apartment. She rang the bell for what seemed like the hunderedth time.

_Will you buck up?_

The door opened, and Nancy was face to face witha sleepy eyed Allison. But as soon as she saw Nancy, the sleep seemed to vanish.

"You? What are you doing here?" she asked harshly.

"Allison, this is no pleasure trip for me either," she replied coolly. "Ned's been kidnapped," she said, waiting for her to react.

"I't's a little too late for April Fool's, isn't it?" she replied.

"I would never joke about something this serious. Ned's been kidnapped and they are threatening to kill him," she repeated.

"You serious? But why? Are you taking the case?"

Nancy was shocked at how she reacted.

"How did you know that I was a detective?" she asked.

"Ned told me," Allison replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh. And why do you want to know? Ned's life is in danger, and that's all you can think about? Don't you care about him?" Nancy asked.

That really seemed to hurt Allison. "Care? Of course I care. I love Ned, and he loves me."

_And I'd love to smash you, right now._

"Whatever. I'm sorry," Nancy said, trying to swallow the pain.

"Yeah. I guess you should come in," Allison said. "What are you here for?"

"When was the last time you saw Ned?" Nancy said as soon as she was inside.

"I don't remember."

"Allison, think. When did you see him last?" Nancy asked, desperate. Allison sighed.

"Yesterday afternoon, we had lunch together."

"Okay. Did he tell you anything?" Nancy asked, hoping for some answers.

"Well, he did tell me that he loved me, over and over again, if that helps."

_Oh, yeah, that helps a lot. Thanks,_ Nancy thought, sarcastically.

Talking to Allison seemed to be getting no where. So Nancy left and was driving home. When she reached homme and was just about to get out of the car, she spotted a note under the windshield. She took it and what she read sent a bone - chilling sensation down her spine.

_Miss Detective Hotshot,_

_We've got the love of your life with us. We haven't killed him. Yet. But we will, once the job is done. _

_WATCH OUT._

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So, did you like this chapter? Please let me know. Reviews are really helpful because I know that someone is reading my story and it makes me feel like updating. 

nickersoncrazy:,,,!


	4. Apologies And Then A Shocker

It was six in the morning when Nancy's alarm rang. She groaned and jumped out of bed. She had hardly slept the night before. She wasn't usually an early bird, but none of that mattered anymore. All she wanted to do was make sure Ned was okay, and she wanted to bring him back. She had thought that nothing could make her feel worse when he had broken up with her, but now she realized that she was wrong. Knowing that he was in danger, not knowing whether he would make it, was simply torcherous.

It was six thirty when she was ready to start her day. She remembered the note she had received the night before. She shivered. She knew she would need help. She picked up her cell phone and dialed.

"Hello?" Bess' groggy voice said when she had picked up.

"Bess, it's Nancy. Listen I need your help."

"Nancy, here I am tyring to beat Sleeping Beauty's record, and you need my help?" Bess said, yawning. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Bess, please, I really need you to help me out with this. You do this for me, and I promise I'll do anything you ever want me to," Nancy said, on the verge of tears.

Bess detected the hint of urgency in her voice. "Nancy, what happened?"

Nancy told her everything. By the time she was done, her face was stained with tears. Bess said that she would be over as soon as she could. Nancy thanked her. She knew she could count on her friends.

_What does this day have in store for me?_

_-------------------------------------------------_

It was eight when Bess and George Fayne arrived at the Drew's. Without wasting a moment, she told them what she had planned out for the day. George and Bess were to go to the PD and see if there had been any developments. Nancy was to go pay another visit to Allison. They decided to meet for lunch.

On the way to Allison's Nancy thought about the note. The person who had sent it had to know that she was head over heels in love with Ned. _The love of your life,_ she remembered. _The job. We._

_Who's we? What job? God, You've got to get us through this, please._

"You again. What now?" Allison asked as soon as she saw Nancy.

"I'm going to start investigating and I want you to help me," Nancy said, to the point.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. There's no one else around, is there?"

Allison sighed. "Alright, come on in," she said.

"Listen, here's the plan. I thought we - " Nancy began, but Allison cut her off.

"Who said anything about me listening to _your _plan?"

Nancy was fuming. "Allison, I have experience. This is not about it being _my_ plan or yours."

"You may have experience, but I'm Ned's girlfriend," Allison smirked the smirk that Nancy hated.

"You may be, but from the looks of it, it seems that I'm the one that really loves Ned, not you," Nancy burst out suddenly. "I don't have time for your stupidity. The guy that means more than life itself, to me, is in danger. Are you in, or not?" She was close to tears.

"Fine, I'm in. Wait here," Allison said, walking out of sight.

Suddenly Nancy's phone rang. It was George.

"Nancy, listen, we've got some info. The police have been questioning around and they know the place that Ned was seen last." George gave Nancy the address.

"Oh George, thank you so much. You and Bess, both. You're the best. I'm going to check out this place right away," Nancy said, excited.

"Okay, but be careful," George answerd.

Allison returned when she hung up. As soon as Nancy told her what she had just found out, her face lit up with happiness.

_Maybe she does love Ned, after all._

Nancy followed George's directions. The entire drive was completely silent. When she reached the destination, Nancy was shocked. The place was completely deserted. There were a few old houses, but no signs of civilization at all. It was spooky, even in the day.

_It's a good thing we didn't come here at night,_ Nancy thought nervously.

"This is probably the place they are keeping Ned in hiding," Nancy told Allison.

"Yeah," she answered. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know. I just hope they haven't done anything to him," Nancy said.

"What do you mean?"

"What if they've killed him? I'll never forgive myself." Nancy sniffed. "I love you, Ned," she whispered to herself.

Allison didn't answer. She seemed preoccupied. They sat in the car in silence for another ten minutes. Then they got out and split up to see if they could find anything.

Nothing.

They found each other and began walking back. Allison still seemed to be lost.

_What's wrong with her?_

"N - Nancy?"Allison seemed hesitant. She spoke in a tone Nancy had never heard from her before

_What happened to your bossy voice?_

"Yeah?"

"Um, eh...I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Allison said, looking down.

_Am I dreaming ?_

"For what?"

"For what I did to you and Ned. I'm sorry for that."

"I don't understand,"Nancy said.

"I knew you guys were dating, but I didn't know that it was so serious. Otherwise, I would have never flirted with him. And I promise, when we find him, I'm going to do everything I can to get you back together," Allison said, looking into Nancy's eyes.

"Wha - that's really sweet of you, but - ," Nancy was shocked. _Have you had a personality transplant or something?_ "What's the use? Ned doesn't love me anymore."

"You're wrong. He does. Nancy, I'm not a bad person. I was acting rude because I was jealous of you. Ned couldn't stop talking about you. He really loves you, Nancy." She seemed so sincere. "And I thought I could get him to love me," she added as an afterthought.

Nancy could see tears in her eyes. She reached out and hugged Allison. "I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say. Allison brushed her tears away.

"No, I'm sorry." Allison smiled at Nancy, who smiled back. She stuck out her hand."Friends?" she asked, looking hopeful.

"Friends," Nancy answered.

They walked back to the car in silence. Nancy was walking ahead. She was happy. _I love you too, Ned._ Allison was trailing behind.

"Hey, Nancy,"Allison said. "Look here."

Nancy turned around and froze. Like ice. On the spot.

Allison stood there, a sinister smile on her face.

And a _very, very_ sinister gun in her hand.

Aimed right at Nancy.

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Ouch. My fingers are sore from typing. That was a pretty good ending, wasn't it? Don't forget to review, please.


	5. SFTH

Okay, you guys are going to hate me, and I repeat HATE me after you read the first part of this chapter. It's dumb, I'm warning you...

* * *

"Alli - no, wha -what are you doing?" Nancy asked, backing away, her voice shaking. 

"I'm just showing you what a gullible fool you are," Allison sneered, the evil tone of her voice coming back. "_I promise I'll get you two together_, ha, like that's going to happen." She moved closer to Nancy and pointed the gun to her temple.

The deathly chillness of the gun against her skin made Nancy shiver.

"Why?" Nancy found herself on the short end of breath.

Allison didn't answer.

She pulled back the lever.

_No._

And let go very slowly. Nancy closed her eyes.

It was raining. Nancy was drenched to the bone.

_Is this what the last minute of your life supposed to feel like? Rain and laughter... laughter?_

Nancy opened her, slowly, afraid of what she would see. But what she saw, and heard, didn't scare her. It shocked her.

She saw Allison laughing like crazy, with tears almost in her eyes. Not an evil laugh, she laughed as though something funny had happened.

_Is this it? Am I a ghost or something?_

"Oh God, Nan - Nancy, you _are _gullible," Allison said through tears. She continued laughing.

_What the heck?... Oh no._

"Allison, show me the gun," Nancy said slowly. Allison handed her the gun, still unable to overcome the laughter spell that had taken over her.

Nancy pulled the lever and let go.

A squirt of water came out.

_A water gun?_

"Allison, you are evil," Nancy said, and it was not long since they were both practically rolling with laughter.

"I know."

Half an hour later, Nancy was at Allison's dropping her off.

"See you, Nan," she said, before going in.

"See ya, Allie," Nancy answered.

_Nan? Allie? This could be the start of a wonderful friendship._ She smiled.

_----------------------------------------_

Nancy had gone to the PD to show Detective Jones the threatening note. He had asked if he could keep it, but she politely refused. She wanted to keep it with her, just in case. She noticed a glint of anger in his eyes when she said so, but she was used to the police not trusting her abilities.

Now she was sitting at home, thinking about the dead end she was stuck at. Just then her father walked in through the door.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hi, Nancy. How'd the investigating go?"

"No where,"Nancy answered.

Smiling sympathetically, Mr.Drew hugged his daughter gently."There'll be a break some where."

"So how was your day?"

"Okay. Oh, and I'll be out of town for the next week."

"New case?" Nancy asked. "What about?"

"It's top secret. Sorry I can't tell you."

"No, that's okay, I understand," Nancy said. "Are the police involved in it?"

"No, but speaking of police, that Detective we met yesterday, he suddenly seems familiar. I think I've worked with him before. Yeah, that's it,"Mr.Drew said.

Another ten minutes of talking, and Nancy was alone again. The sudden flicking of her cell phone screen caught her eye. She had received a message.

_SFTH._

Nancy stared at the screen for a moment.

_What?_

She quickly checked the number fromwhich she ahd received the message. It was from a number that she knew so well, by heart.

_Ned's number_._ But then again, it could be from someone who has Ned's phone._

Nancy racked her brains.

_SFTH, SFTH. Come on, think, think._

She looked at the word again.

_S...Straight, Straight From The Heart!_

Nobody knew that, it had to be Ned who sent that message.

* * *

Stupid beginning, huh? Anyway, I couldn't kill Nancy because she wouldn't be able to find Ned then. Thank all those who reviewed. Please keep doing so.

nickersoncrazy:;;;!


	6. Attack

Nancy decided to call Detective Jones early the next morning and tell him that atleast, she was sure of one thing. Ned was alive. That was all that mattered to her. After a minute of talking on the phone, Nancy learned that he was not in at the moment. She then decided to call Chief McGinnis directly. She couldn't waste time. This was a matter of saving a person from what could be death. In her case, not just any person.

"Hello? Chief, it's Nancy," she said as soon as he had answered.

"Hello Nancy, new case?"

"New case _and_ new break," she said excitedly. "Ned's okay, and all I've got to do is find him. I think I know the area they've kidnapped him to, I don't know where exactly, but I'll find out. I tried calling Detective Jones but I couldn't reach him. The only thing I don't understand is the kidnapper's motive. I have a feeling it has something to do with me, but I don't know what. And I -" _Are you listening?_

There was silence.

"Nancy, what on earth are you talking about? What happened to Ned, and kidnapping, what kidnapping? I have no idea what you're talking about." He was flabbergasted.

"But, but you - didn't you tell John that I'm - that you want me on the case?" She was in shock.

"No, I didn't even know there was a case. John didn't tell me anything about this," he answered her.

"But he told me that you had recommened me. Why?"

"I don't know, I don't know what's going on," McGinnis told Nancy.

When Nancy hung up, she was very confused. She couldn't understand anything.

_Maybe he said that so that I would agree to work on the case_, she reasoned. She couldn't think of any other explanation.

_Should I trust him?_

_-------------------------------------_

Nancy was at Ned's office at around ten that morning. She didn't know what she was looking for exactly, but she was going to give it a shot. She had , with much difficulty, managed to get permission to look at the employee's personal files. She had gone through around twenty files already, but in vain. If this were any other case, she would have given up, but she wasn't going to now.

_I'm doing this for Ned._

Feeling weak and dispirited, she looked at the name on the next file.

_Allison Jones._

She opened it and had a look. Everything was about what she already knew. Almost everything. Nancy took a closer look at the bio data, and something that she read shocked her.

_**Transferred from Maltic, Multi National Company, New York.**_

She had told everyone that she was from India, but her file said that she was from New York.

_Boy, this case is full of surprises. She had to be lying, one way or the other. I'm going to find out why._

_------------------------------------_

Nancy decided to have a little chat with Allison.

_I hope this isn't another of her pranks._

Once inside her apartment, Allison asked Nancy if she had found out anything new. Nancy decided to answer her negatively. Nancy decide to try out a tactic that she had planned.

"Let's not talk about this case. The more I think about it, the more I think of Ned," Nancy said, feigning tears. She brushed them away impatiently.

"Then...what _do_ you want to talk about?" Allison asked.

"I don't know, something not depressing,"Nancy answered. "You said you're from India, didn't you? Which part? I just want know becasuse I have a cousin who studies there."

_That sounded perfect._

Nancy saw panic in Allison's eyes. She quickly recovered, though.

"Oh, uh...Madras," she said, naming a metropolitan city.

"Ah, then you must've been to the Char Minar,"Nancy said, naming an age old monument. She had just brushed up on Indian geology and history before coming to meet Allison.

"Yeah, of course I have. It's beautiful."

_Strike one! You little liar. There_ is_ no Char Minar in Madras._

"Yeah, I've heard a lot about it," Nancy said, putting on her best acting perfomance.

_And believe me, the whole world is going to hear about it, if you have something to do with Ned's kidnapping, you devious sneak._

_---------------------------------------_

Nancy was on her way to the PD. She wanted to come right out and ask the Detective why he had lied to her.

_Never in my life did I think I'd be interrogating an officer,_ she thought.

"Is Detective John in?," she asked an officer.

"Yeah, he's in his office."

Nancy knew the way to his office. She knocked on the door and heard him telling her to come in.

"Good morning. Can we talk about the case if you aren't busy?" she asked, hoping he'd say yes.

"Why not?"

"But before that, I just want to know why you didn't tell - " she didn't have the chance to complete her sentence. The phone rang.

"Hello?" he said into the receiver. He listened for a few seconds. His eyes kept darting at Nancy. It seemed as if he was talking about something he didn't want her to know.

_Suspicious,_ Nancy thought. She strained her ears but pretended to be preoccupied.

"Yeah okay, I'll meet you for lunch. Where?" She heared him say. She also heard him murmur the name of a nearby restaurant and 'one - thirty'. "Bye."

He looked at Nancy after he had hung up for a long time. Nancy simply stared back. But before either of them could say a word, the phone rang again. Nancy sighed. She listened again, but nothing seemed suspicious. After a few minutes, he hung up.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I've got to go. We'll talk some other time." He walked out of his office.

------------------------------

At one forty -five Nancy was at the restaurant Detective John was supposed to be at.

_I hope he's here._

She walked into the busy restaurant. She craned her neck to see if she could find him and who he was with. She search around for another five minutes.

That's when she saw him. The other person was sitting with her back facing Nancy. She moved closer.

She saw the other person. A person so familiar. A person so erratic.

A person named Allison Jones.

Nancy gasped.

---------------------------------

_So they _are_ involved together in this somehow. How can people be so...two timing? How could I have been so stupid? This case makes me feel like I'm on candid camera._

She was standing outside Allison's apartment. _Time for me to stop playing dumb._ She knocked the door yet again. She had been waiting for ten minutes. She wasn't going to leave until she had some answers.

_I'm going to knock on this door till my fingers bleed._

All of a sudden, Nancy felt a hand over her mouth. A hand that belonged to someone who had come up behind her. She choked back a scream. The next thing she knew there was the sickly sweet smell of chloroform.

"Take her in, Uncle Mark. She's out." Nancy heard a voice say. Allison's voice.

Nancy felt herself drifting off...

* * *

I'm going to start theromance from the next chapter onwards. I've been waiting for that for so long. So I have just one thing to tell y'all...

_PLEASE REVIEW!_

nickersoncrazy:,,,!


	7. Blush

Nancy came to, about half an hour later. She found herself in a car. A _police_ car.

_So that officer_ is_ involved in this with that scheming woman_, her aching brain told her. _Uncle Mark,_ she remembered.

_They are kidnapping me._

She didn't have the strength to fight. She struggled to sit up in the backseat of the car. She looked out of the window

_This place... we came here the other day. _Detective_ Jones gave us the address._ She coughed. Allison and Jones alias Mark looked at her from the front. They didn't say anything. They didn't need to. There was murder in their eyes.

"Where's Ned?," she asked struggling to speak."Who are you?"

Allison spoke up. "You'll soon find the answer to your first question. And if you're as smart as they say you are, you'll find the answer to the other question, too."

Nancy decided to give up. She leaned back against the seat and began to drift off.

_Ned._

_--------------------------_

Nancy felt someone shaking her hard. She opened her eyes and blinked. She saw Mark standing in front of her eyes.

"Wake up, will you. It's about time. Road trip's over." He pulled Nancy out of the car.

Her heart began to thud.

She stepped out and saw the lonley place she had been to, not long ago.

_I knew they were hiding Ned here._

"And if you're thinking of screaming, don't bother. There's no one else here.,"Allison's voice came up from behind Mark.

"I hate you," Nancy said bitterly.

"I hate you, too,"Allison replied cooly.

"Now that we've all shared our feelings," Mark said sarcastically,"Let's get to buisness."

Nancy gulped. _What buisness?_

She suddenly felt a hard, cold metal against her back. She drew in sharp breath.

_A gun. A real one, this time._

"Now follow Allie. If you try to pull anything funny, let me tell you there ain't going to be pretty consequences," Mark said lowly.

Nancy nodded.

Allison began walking for what seemed like miles from where the car was parked. Nancy quitely followed, the skin on her back hyper - sensitive. After a number of turns, they reached an old, almost haunted looking house.

_What next?_

Allison undid a number of locks before she opened the door.

"Follow her upstairs."

Nancy did as she was told.

"Is Ned here?", she asked, breaking the silence.

"Shut up," was the answer she received.

On the second floor, Allison stopped and pushed open another door. Mark then pushed Nancy inside.

"Ow," she cried in pain, when she bumped her shoulder. She had hit it with such force, that she was sure there would be a bruise developing.

"Nancy," she heard a voice call out to her.

"Ned," she whispered back.

-------------------------------

Nancy, everything else forgotten, practically flew into Ned's waiting arms. They collided so hard, that they stumbled and almost hit the floor together.

"Nancy, oh Nan," Ned whispered into her hair. Nancy began to cry. She held him tight.

"Ned," she choked," Why? What happened?"

He kept murmuring her name in answer.

"You're here? I'm not dreaming?"

"I'm here," Nancy confirmed. "And I won't let you leave me, ever again." She sobbed.

"Nancy, oh my God, Nan," he said still holding her tight, so much that it was almost hurting. "I lov - " Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance to complete.

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Allison's voice interrupted them. "Too bad I have diabetes.Too much sugar is not a good thing for me." She snickered.

Mark said something to Allison so low that Nancy could only hear ' We've got her, now we've got to start working.'

Allison gave them each one last stare before she shut the door.

A stare that spelt : _Say your prayers._

_-------------------------_

Nancy turned to Ned once they had left. She blushed.

"Um...hi." She didn't know what else to say.

"Hi, yourself," he answered.

She smiled at him.

"You sent me that message, didn't you? Straight From...?" She let her voice trail away.

Ned blushed. "Yeah. I could have sent something else like 'Ned', but then again, anybody could have sent you that. 'SFTH' is kinda like a trademark."

Nancy smiled again.

"I _am_ the only one who sends you that kind of...stuff, right?" Ned asked and immediately reddened.

Nancy looked down. "Yeah," she whispered.

_We can't keep on blushing at each other like this,_ she thought.

"What happened? I mean, why have we been kidnapped?" Ned asked.

"I don't know, but it has something to do with me. I'm sorry for getting you into this," Nancy said.

"Hey, I'd feel a lot better if I were kidnapped _with_ you, instead of you being kidnapped alone."

"Yeah, I'd feel better, too," Nancy said. "At least then I'd know that someone's there for me." She blushed, yet again. "I mean, with me," she ammended. Silence followed.

"I missed you, Nan. Really missed you,"Ned said softly.

"Life's been hard for me, too, since we broke up," Nancy said, not daring to look him in the eye.

_Say it. Say that you want to get back to being a couple. _But he didn't.

He reached out and put an arm round her shoulders. She flinched. He immediately removed his arm.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"No, it's not that. I banged my shoulder, it hurts."

"Oh, uh, there's this little tube of cream that I found the other day... where did I put it?" Ned stood up and began to look around.

"Ah... I've found it," he said after a while. He walked back to Nancy and removed the cap.

"Can I?...Do you want me to...?"

Nancy simply shrugged.

Ned pulled down the sleeve of Nancy's top gently, ignoring the wild beating of his heart. He squeezed the tube and gently rubbed a dab of the cream onto the bruise.

_I must look a red as a tomato_, he thought.

"Does it burn? he asked when he was done.

"A little," Nancy answerd.

_But everytime you touch it , it feels like...Heaven._

_"_Do you want to talk about the case now?" Ned asked, desperate to start a conversation.

_As if,_ Nancy thought. _That's the last thing on my mind._

"No, not really. I'm kinda tired, I guess," she answered. "If you don't mind."

_Suddenly I don't want to solve this case. We could live here forever. Together._

_--------------------------_

Hours later and Nancy was beginning to feel guilty. Guilty of not wanting to work on the case.

_I got Ned into this mess, and now I've got to get him out._

"Ned, tell me everything about Allison. Every single thing."

"Well, I met her at work. I, uh...didn't tell you that -"

"I figured that out,"Nancy said.

"Oh, okay. And she kept asking a lot about you and then one day she somehow made me feel as if you didn't want me. That's why I began neglecting you...I'm sorry. And then after we broke up, she and I were out when Mark, that's her Uncle slapped some chloroform over me, and the next thing I knew, I was here."

"Mark is an officer under the name John at the PD. He told me the way to get here, it's like as if they wanted me to find you, so they could kidnap me as well. And I should have known that Allison would be the one capable of sending that note..."

"What note?" Ned asked.

"A note that said that they had the person that I, uh...liked, they must have been talking about you. And Allison knew that I, well, liked you...I mean, sort of," she explained.

"Allison sure had me fooled," Ned said, shaking his head.

"Me, too."

"Well, one thing's for sure, she'd make a great actress,"Ned said, dryly.

"Yeah, an Oscar winner," Nancy said.

They were silent for the next few minutes.

"What now?" Nancy asked.

"We sleep, I guess," Ned replied.

----------------------------------

They had never slept together before. And there they were, with no other choice, but to sleep together. Not that they didn't like it. It was just that they weren't even a couple anymore. It felt...awkward.

They were lying on the floor with_ absolutely_ no contact. They kept their distance.

They kept sneaking glances at each other, and when they caught each other's eyes, they blushed.

Ned closed his eyes, and forced himself to forget about Nancy. It was all he could do to prevent him from pulling her close.

_She might not want that_, he thought.

Instead, he reached out his trembling hand to touch the palm of her own. She turned onto her side and willingly took it between both of her hands, and squeezed gently.

Ned interlaced his fingers through her's. For the first time, they gazed into each other's eyes, feeling as if they could sink into them. Neither of them dared to look away, to break the spell. Nancy remembered them looking at each other like this before. A long time ago. It had been love at first sight, back then. She wondered if it was happening again. She hoped it was.

"I'm scared, Ned,"Nancy admitted,softly.

Ned kissed her hand tenderly. "I won't let them hurt you, Nancy. I promise." They smiled at each other.

They maintained the distance.

An hour later, after making sure that Nancy was asleep, Ned pulled her as close to him as possible. He fell asleep, feeling just as content as her.

* * *

Sorry, there wasn't much about the case in this chapter. But, seriously, how can you expect me to write about plot, when there's NN romance to write? 

Thanks to everyone who sent a review.. Keep them going, please.

nickersoncrazy:,,,!


	8. Falling in Love Again

Hi!

I was just reading this story last night, and I felt like slapping myself after every chapter for all the errors I made. Hope there aren't any in this one. This chapter isn't much, but it's an update, nevertheless:)

Please review!

nickersoncrazy:,,,!

* * *

_Three wonderful years,_ Nancy thought. _By far, the best years of my life._

She turned onto her side to face Ned, who was sound asleep. Looking at his serene face, all her thoughts returned to the past.

She and Ned had always been the best of friends, right from the time they were little. Everything they had done, they had done together. Hand in hand. They had stood beside each other all throughout.

But as they grew up, things had changed. Emotions, rather.

Almost every teenager has a crush a6t some point or the other. But this was a crush that nobody had expected.

At the age of fifteen, Nancy had developed a massive crush – on her best friend. Ned.

Once she had realized it, Nancy couldn't believe how blind she had been. She had had the guy – the perfect guy right in front of her eyes, but she hadn't noticed. The cliché, 'you can't be just friend with a guy' proved to be true, in her case.

Days after secretly drooling over him, after the number of Bess' pep talks, she reluctantly told Ned how she really felt. He had been surprised at first, but agreed that it would be worth a try. They gave it a shot.

They fell madly in love.

That lead to the beginning to a beautiful new chapter of their lives.

Three years later, all Nancy could do was think back and smile. She was kidnapped, possibly, living the last few days of her life - but she wasn't scared. She had Ned by her side. Her best friend.

She moved closer to him, nuzzling her cheek against his chest. Closing her eyes, she listened to the soft, rhythmic beating of his heart. She smiled, adoringly, and ran her hand through his thick, dark hair and his arms tightened around her in response.

_He looks so sweet,_ she thought. _Even when I can hardly see him in the dark. _Acting on impulse, she leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek, causing him to stir.

"Nan?" he mumbled groggily.

Nancy knew that she had to apologize. She hadn't gotten the chance to do so earlier, but two in the morning seemed like the perfect time.

"Ned?" she whispered.

He mumbled something in reply but she couldn't make out what.

"I just wanted to say that I'm - I'm sorry."

Ned blinked in surprise. "For what?"

"For blowing up at you like that about Allison," she answered. "I mean, I've done t5he same thing to you so many times, but you never gotten so angry, and you always gave me a second chance. I want to do the same." She squeezed his arm affectionately. "That is, if you still love me."

"Oh, Nancy," Ned said softly. "You know I can never stop loving you." He pulled her deeper into his muscular arms and kissed her tenderly. "I'm sorry, too." He gently brushed the tip of her nose with his.

Nancy melted against him. "I'm crazy about you," she murmured happily.

"I'm nuts about you, too," Ned said and kissed his girlfriend passionately until she was breathless.

Nestling into his side, Nancy fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Her best friend was back.

--

The first thing that Nancy had to see, unfortunately, the next morning was Allison smirking. "Y'all have a good night?" she asked, faking concern. "Not that I care, of course."

"What is your _problem_?" Ned asked. He had woken up a few minutes earlier.

Rubbing away the sleep from her eyes, Nancy said, "You know neither of us. Why are you doing this?"

"Do you think I'm out of my mind? Do you think I'm just going to tell you the whole story? Do I look like someone who'd say that one plus equals…purple?"

"Yep," Nancy simply answered, enjoying the pleasure of irritating the witch in front of her.

Ned grinned at Nancy and looked at Allison innocently. "Is that breaking news to you?"

Allison began to fume. "You just shut your mouth, you – you - " She brushed aside a strand of hair impatiently. "Arrgh…"

Nancy faked a shocked gasp. "Be careful, Allison," she said sweetly. "I think there's smoke coming out of your eyes. You know, like those bull fights in cartoons?"

"Shut your mouth!"

"Aw, is that all poor little Allie can say?" Nancy said, feeling a catfight coming on.

"Oh, I can say a lot more, you blooming female - " She broke off being cut by a loud, angry voice.

"Allison!" Mark's voce rang through the entire house. " I'm leaving now so you'd better shut your blinking mouth and lock them up!"

Allison rolled her eyes and then looked smugly at the couple. "Well, say what you want, but at the end, I'm the one who's going to win. That dumb uncle of mine has to go to the PD, and I've got to go work on something, so you'll be all alone. And don't bother trying to escape because the front door is mechanically locked. Now all I have to do is lock you two idiots in." She dug in the pocket of her jeans for her keys, but couldn't find them. "Wait here," she muttered and went away, simply shutting the door behind her.

As soon as Nancy was sure that Allison was out of hearing distance, she jumped up to her feet, pulling Ned along with her.

"Come on," she hissed. "Let's' get out of here." Together they ran out of the room and made sure that they closed the door behind them. Just then, they heard Allison walking up the stairs, jingling her eyes and humming a tune.

Ned gasped and pulled Nancy out of her sight. They both hid in the shadows, hoping against hope that Allison would not see them. Holding their breath, they waited for her to pass by them. They watched as she walked up to the door of the room they had been held captive in, and slid the key into the slot, oblivious to the fact that she was looking in absolutely nothing.

"Ta – ta, people!" she said, expecting them to hear from inside, and laughed devilishly. She turned around and walked away, singing a song at the top of her lungs.

Ned stood up, when he was sure that she had gone and pulled Nancy up. "She sounds like a frog when she sings," he said and they both laughed.

"Ned, I think you've just insulted ever frog in the world."

Ned put an arm around her shoulder and squeezed it lovingly. "You're amazing," he whispered and kissed her gently.

Nancy sunk into his arms as she returned the kiss. "I love you so much, but I think we'd better start looking around for clues."

Ned pouted mockingly. "Just one more teeny – weeny peck?" he asked, with two of his fingers inches apart.

Nancy's heart melted. "Aw…how can I say no to that?" She leaned in toward him, but what followed was more than just a teeny – weeny peck.

--

"We searched every room in this stupid house and what have we come up with? Nothing," Nancy said disgustedly.

Ned gave her a watery smile. "Is Nancy Drew giving up?"

Nancy glared mockingly. "I'm not giving up, but this is so…disappointing." She sighed.

Ned pulled her into an embrace. "I have complete faith in you, Nan," he whispered with his lips pressed against her hair. "Complete faith."

Nancy gazed up into his eyes. "Knowing that you believe in me means a lot, Ned." She reached up and kissed him gently. "You're the best best friend and boyfriend ever."

"We haven't looked in the basement," Ned pointed out.

"The…basement?"

"Aw, don't worry, I'll protect you from any ghosts down there," Ned teased.

Nancy smacked him on the arm playfully. "Come on."

With their hands joined, they went down and looked around the basement, which had been converted into a little messy looking office.

"Wow, there has to be some clue in here," Nancy said.

After an hour of searching, Ned heard Nancy gasp.

"What is it?" he asked, but she didn't answered. She looked shocked.

"Nan?" he ran upto her and she handed him an old newspaper clipping, dated fifteen years ago.

Nancy didn't really remember the person in the photo, but she had seen her. She definitely had. She also saw herself reflected in the photograph of the woman in the newspaper.

Her mother.


End file.
